


Deck the Ship

by Ilovetoread09



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan - Freeform, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cute, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28368648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilovetoread09/pseuds/Ilovetoread09
Summary: In which Emma winds up spending Christmas with a certain pirate. Post-Neverland, no Pan’s curse.
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	Deck the Ship

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, it’s a two days after Christmas, but here you go! Obviously, quite a few timeline changes here.

Hook was up to something.

Well, at least according to the citizens of Storybrooke, he was up to something.

And unfortunately as the town’s Sheriff, Emma has to check it out. Even if it was Christmas Day and Emma would rather be curled up in a chair in front of the fire with a cup of hot cocoa.

She’d tried ignoring the phone calls that came into the station the past week. Claims that the pirate was up to no good as various townsfolk saw him wandering about town to various shops. Emma didn’t exactly know what the issue was, but apparently the man couldn’t go about his business without others complaining.

He’s been distant since Neverland, and she rarely sees him, not that she really had the time. When not at the station, she spends most of her time with Henry. And Neal, on occasion. When they’d first returned to Neverland, she and Neal had given “them” a try, but whatever they had when she was seventeen just wasn’t there anymore. So, they settled on being friends and being there for Henry.

Now, however, Emma is stuck spending her Christmas Day investigating the reason Hook dared to cross the thresholds of the hardware store and the nursery. Not like she has anything better planned.

She’d politely declined Mary Margaret and David’s invitation (she still struggles to refer to them as Mom and Dad) and Henry is with Regina today, Emma and him having spent Christmas Eve together.

Shaking her head, the blonde makes her way to the docks, wondering if Hook is even on his ship. If the calls are any indication, he’s been a busy man. Maybe she’ll get lucky and he won’t be there.

When the Jolly Roger comes into view, Emma freezes in her tracks and looks around, sure she’s at the wrong ship. Her eyes slide to the name, and nope, it’s definitely the Jolly Roger.

“Hook?” she calls, confusion in her voice.

The familiar scruff of black hair appears over the railing.

“Ahoy there, Swan!” the pirate calls, waving. “Perfect timing!”

“What the…” Emma mutters as she makes her way up the gangplank, unable to resist the pull to investigate (and definitely resisting Hook’s smile). When she reaches the deck, her eyes widen as she takes in the scene.

Colorful Christmas lights decorate the mast, garland lines both the outside and inside of the railing, and there’s a respectably sized Christmas tree at the center of the deck, decorated with lights, ornaments, and everything else people usually stick on Christmas trees. Not that Emma would really know, she’d never stayed in a home long enough to decorate one.

“Welcome aboard, Swan,” Hook greets, smiling. She stares and blinks, trying not think about the fact that he’s wearing the smile he has just for her.

“What did you mean by perfect timing?”

The question has him shuffling his feet, and his hand reaches to scratch behind his ear (she definitely does not think it’s an adorable habit. Absolutely not). “Ah, well, I might have heard through the town gossips that you’d be spending the holiday alone.”

She sighs, looking at her feet. She’s always spent Christmas alone, more or less, and she isn’t ready to have the level of “family gathering” being with her parents would’ve entailed.

She glances up at him, her heart fluttering a little at the hopeful look on his face.

“And you’re hoping I’d join you in some festivities?”

The tips of his ears turn pink. “Aye. Something like that.” He gestures to a table, set up with two mugs, a kettle over a small electric flame, and some other condiments. “I prepared hot cocoa, with cinnamon of course. Rum is an optional additive as well.”

She can’t stop the smile that spreads across her face, her stomach doing flips as the pirate continues to gaze at her, his eyes a sharp blue and full of hope. She finds she can’t refuse.

“Why the hell not?” she says and now he’s positively beaming, taking her hand and dragging her to the table, pouring the hot water into both mugs as sits on one of the barrels he’s set up. She notes that the bag of hot cocoa mix he has is from one of the much nicer, more expensive brands. One of the ones she’d get on the extremely rare occasion and only the single packet.

So, they just… sit and talk. It’s actually nice and not as awkward as she’d thought it’d be. He catches her up on what he’s been up to since returning from Neverland. Turns out, he’s been learning about the modern world and figuring out how to adjust to it.

“Just how does your supposed technology not run on magic, Swan?” Emma chuckles. “I mean, it must! The Google can find me everything in mere seconds and apparently I can use a talking phone to speak with someone a great distance from me.”

“It takes a bit of explaining, particularly the phone part,” she says, knowing he’ll figure it out soon enough.

“It’s a grand thing. Also, what’s a text?” His curiosity is adorable. “Your lad told me I should work on learning how to send one.”

Emma furrows her eyebrows. “You talked to Henry?”

“Aye, he stops by every once in a while to say hello. Speaking of,” Hook rises from his seat and walks over to a…boom box? After some fiddling, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” flows from the speakers.

“Where’d you get that?” Emma inquires.

“Your lad procured it for me, from something called an electronics store. Said something called a jukebox would’ve been too big.” Holding out his hand, Hook bows. “Now, would you do the honor of dancing with me, Swan?”

Emma automatically begins to move her hand toward his, but halts. She really has no reason to say no. She’s not attached to Neal, and she can somewhat admit that her heart flutters when Hook gives her that smile. And then his promise from Echo Cave comes to her mind and she bites her lip. He’d made her a promise, one he apparently fully intends to keep.

She takes his hand and he pulls her closer, swaying to the music as his hook rests comfortable against her back. They’re the only ones here, so she gives into the urge to rest her head on his shoulder.

“How long have you been planning this?”

The pirate hums and she can feel the reverberation on her cheek. “Perhaps a week? Your lad told me all about the holiday in this world, about how to it was a day to spend with family and friends. That would’ve been about two weeks ago.”

She can’t decide whether she wants to groan or laugh at Henry’s antics. That kid is something else.

“But I didn’t know I would be alone today, yet,” she says.

“No, which is why the idea came to me about a week ago. Apparently, someone blathered about Regina and Henry spending time together today and that Snow and David were planning something for today.”

She looks up at him. “You knew I’d say no to them.”

He shrugs. “Your uncertainty towards them in Neverland made me think as much.” She raises an eyebrow. He just chuckles and taps her nose. “Open book, love.”

“Not your love,” she grumbles, the statement lacking any bite. She places her head on his shoulder again. Then something occurs to her. “And the townspeople, did you bribe them to call the station?” She wouldn’t put it past him.

“Ah, no.” He smirks. “I just hoped my wandering around town would pique people’s concern, with me being a nefarious villain and all, and they did not disappoint. Townsfolk can be quite predictable.”

She scowls at his mention of being a villain. She doesn’t think he is, not anymore. However, she’s also amused by his assessment of the citizens of Storybrooke.

“And now I’m here,” she supplies.

“Aye.” He holds her a bit tighter as the song comes to an end. “Now you’re here.”

She glances up at him again, seeing the softness in his gaze. She leans up and presses a lingering kiss on his cheek, and she feels the grin on his face.

Best Christmas ever!


End file.
